India and the World | India Writes

Rising India & Rising China: A medium-term projection

July 28, 2017July 28, 2017 - by Srikanth Kondapalli

As two major countries in the Asian region in terms of population, territory, higher economic growth rates and growing aspirations, the role of India and China vis-à-vis each other, and at the regional and global levels, is significant. Medium-term prospects of these two countries point towards relative enhancement in their respective comprehensive national strengths, gradual vanishing of “buffer zones” that existed between the two in the Asian region and a coalescing equation so far conditioned by the “cooperation and competition” dyad. Nevertheless, overall stability in the political relations can be expected between the two Asian powers in the medium term.
Unlike in the past, India is also leveraging a wide variety of diplomatic and strategic partnerships with the US, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam at a time when Beijing is trying to expand its appeal through One Belt, One Road project and cobbling up semi-military alliances with Pakistan and others. At the ideological level, a rising India is increasingly speaking about its democratic experiment as a possible model for others to adopt.Traditionally, this has been a contentious – if not made explicit – issue between India and China in their appeal to Asian, African and South American continents. Thus, the stakes are expected to be high for India’s relations with China in the medium to long-term.

Chinese media’s new Doklam spin: US, Stop meddling and stay off!

July 26, 2017 - by India Writes Network

Propaganda thrives in times of conflict, and in this ongoing battle of perceptions between India and China amid the weeks-long standoff at the Sikkim border, sections of China’s state-controlled media have launched a verbal blitzkrieg, accusing India of sinister motives and peddling the government’s line. The latest salvo from The Global Times, a notoriously hawkish nationalist tabloid, has a conspiratorial ring and blames the United States for interfering and benefiting from the India-China standoff.
“More than five weeks into the border standoff between China and India, some countries other than the two directly involved are trying to step in,” said the Global Times in a hard-hitting article, in an apparent reference to the US and Australia.
Titled “Instigating Sino-India confrontation won’t benefit US,” the article alluded to commentaries in the US media calling on Washington to provide to support India to “deter and counter” China and mobilise the world against Beijing. The article targeted Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop for her remarks, during her recent visit to India, about resolving the Doka La issue peacefully. “Bishop intends to blur the nature of the face-off and shows disguised support for India.”
Ever since India sent its troops to prevent Chinese troops from building a road through the disputed Dokalam plateau along the Sikkim border over five weeks ago, the Global Times and other state-controlled media outfits have constantly reinforced the Chinese government’s spin about India trespassing into the Chinese territory, and has been relentlessly issuing threatening messages to India, warning of a repeat of the 1962 war in which China humiliated India and occupied large swathes of the Indian territory. Such propaganda blitz, however, hasn’t cut much ice in the international community, with India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj telling parliament a few days ago that the world is with India in the wake of the Doka La stand-off.

Doklam stand-off: Ahead of Doval’s visit, China talks tough, hardens stand

July 26, 2017 - by Shweta Aggarwal

Ahead of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s visit to Beijing for a BRICS meeting, China has signalled a hardening of its posture on the continuing standoff along the Sikkim border by reiterating that the only way to resolve the impasse is for India to unconditionally withdraw troops as a precursor to any talks.
Alluding to remarks of China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the spokesperson of China’s Foreign Office, Lu Kang, pinned the blame on India for trespassing into China’s territory and asked for an unconditional pull-out by India. “I have stressed many times that the crux of this incident is that the Indian border troops illegally trespassed into China’s territory and the solution as Wang put it is for Indian border troops to pull-out unconditionally. This is a precondition basis for any meaningful talks between the two countries,” said the spokesperson in Beijing on July 26.
The Chinese spokesperson’s clarification and reiteration of its stated position came a day before the meeting of the national security advisers of BRICS countries at which Mr Doval will represent India. India has made it clear to China that India’s decision to send its troops to the disputed Doklam plateau, which is contested by both China and Bhutan, was based on a careful assessment that China’s building of a road through the strategic plateau amounted to an attempt to change the status quo at the strategically located India-Bhutan-China tri-junction and represented a threat to the country’s security.
With both India and China refusing to budge from their positions, and Beijing repeatedly asking India for unilateral withdrawal of troops, there is hardly any room for compromise and little hope of any breakthrough in the continuing stalemate. However, all eyes will be on a likely bilateral meeting between Mr Doval and his Chinese counterpart, the influential State Councillor Yang Jiechi, on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting. Both Doval and Yang are also Special Representatives for the India-China boundary negotiations, and enjoy confidence of their leaders. Hence, the Doval-Yang meeting, if it takes place, could prepare the stage for some give-and-take to resolve the Doklam standoff, which has plunged relations between the two Asian giants to a new low.

Doklam standoff: India says did the right thing, asks for mutual withdrawal and talks

July 20, 2017 - by India Writes Network

With the impasse deepening between the two Asian giants over their weeks-long border standoff, India has made it clear to China that “both sides must pull back troops and work things out with talks,” and underlined that other countries have backed India over the Doklam stand-off.
In a pointed speech in parliament on July 20, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that “both sides must pull back troops and work things out with talks” and stressed that India’s action (in sending its troops to the Doklam plateau last month) was motivated by its need to protect its security near where the boundaries of China, India and Bhutan meet.
“If China, unilaterally changes the status quo of the tri-junction point, it is a straight challenge to our security,” said Ms Swaraj.
The relations between the two Asian powers have been under severe stress for over a month after Chinese troops started building a road in the disputed Doklam plateau, which Bhutan claims as part of its own territory. India sent in its troops to stall the construction of the road as it would give the Chinese military access to the Chicken Point that links the mainland India with its seven north-eastern states.
India is insisting on diplomatic means to resolve the crisis amid aggressive rhetoric emanating from nationalistic state-controlled media in Beijing.
In a sign that India is hoping that dialogue will resolve the impasse, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will travel to China on July 27 for a meeting of national security advisers of BRICS grouping of emerging powers, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. India is looking for a separate bilateral meeting between Mr Doval and China’s influential State Counsellor Yeng Jiechi on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting to explore ways to defuse the crisis.

The Malabar Exercises: An Appraisal

July 19, 2017July 19, 2017 - by India Writes Network

The 21st edition of the Malabar exercises, Malabar-17, was conducted in the Bay of Bengal from July 10 to 17, 2017. The primary aim of the exercise was to increase interoperability amongst the navies of India, Japan and the US as well as develop a common understanding and procedures for maritime security operations. The exercise is a demonstration of the joint commitment of all three nations to address common maritime challenges across the spectrum of operations and will go a long way in enhancing maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region for the benefit of the global maritime community.
The Indo-Pacific region holds immense geo-political and geo-strategic significance for navies around the world. The challenges of piracy, maritime terrorism, organised crime like drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related material, all have forced navies to conduct joint patrols and provide escort duties for shipping assets. In conjunction with these non-conventional challenges, the challenge to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, unrelenting firing of missiles by North Korea and apprehension of non-accessibility of crucial choke points have elicited varying responses from the stake holders. It has become imperative for navies to cooperate with each other, ensure interoperability and position maritime assets to ensure peace and stability. Over a period of time, naval exercises between like-minded nations have become a viable mechanism to practice drills in a simulated setting in order to eliminate functional gaps that may lead to insecurities.

India speaks in one voice, opts for diplomacy to resolve China tensions

July 15, 2017July 15, 2017 - by India Writes Network

Amid deepening impasse with China on the Doklam standoff, India has decided on a calibrated strategy to explore all diplomatic options to defuse tensions with Asia’s most powerful economy and a rising power.

The government and opposition parties spoke in one voice on pursuing the diplomatic course to deescalate tensions and underlined the need for national unity to deal with an increasingly assertive China.
At a meeting hosted by Home Minister Rajnath Singh at his residence in New Delhi on July 14, the government briefed opposition leaders on its decision to send troops to stall the building of a strategic road through the Doklam plateau by Chinese troops in the Bhutanese territory and its options in dealing with China.

Modi at G20: India scores on terror, sides with G-19 versus Trump on climate change

July 9, 2017July 9, 2017 - by Manish Chand

The G20 summit of the world’s most powerful economies ended in the picturesque German port city of Hamburg on July 8, with a separate Leaders’ Statement on jointly tackling the rising scourge of terrorism and a joint formulation on sustaining inclusive global economic growth.
With US President Donald Trump walking out of the Paris Accord a few weeks ago, climate change became an intensely divisive issue, with Mr Trump, known for his mercurial temperament, arrayed against virtually the rest of G20 countries, making it a sort of G19-versus-US power play contest. Protracted discussions among Sherpas and officials of G20 countries went down the wire, ending in a mid-way compromise between the US and the rest on the issue of climate change.
From India’s point of view, a separate standalone joint statement on terrorism was a major takeaway, which shaped proactively by Indian negotiators. “Originally, there was a plan to have an annexe on terrorism, but India from day one argued that it should be converted into a leaders’ statement on counter-terrorism,” Dr Arvind Panagriya, India’s Sherpa for G20 and Vice-Chairman of Niti Ayog, told select journalists in Hamburg.
In his speech at the G20 summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented an 11-point Action Agenda for combating terrorism, which included suggestions for exchange of lists of terrorists among G20 nations, easing and expediting of legal processes like extradition and concrete steps to choke funds and weapon supply to the terrorists. He asked world leaders to unite against terrorism and singled out Pakistan-based terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) for imperative global action. Mr Modi reminded the world community that some countries were using terror as a tool to achieve political objectives and pitched for “deterrent” action collectively by the G-20 members against such nations.

Modi pitches for bigger BRICS role in combating terror, Xi backs India

July 7, 2017July 8, 2017 - by Manish Chand

HAMBURG: Ahead of the BRICS summit in China, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined that the BRICS grouping should play a pivotal role in combating terrorism, addressing climate change and take the lead in fuelling global economic growth.
Mr Modi was speaking at the meeting of
the leaders of the five BRICS countries on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. China will host the forthcoming 9th BRICS Summit in September in Xiamen.
In his intervention, Mr Modi underscored that BRICS has been a strong voice and needs to show leadership on terrorism and global economy. He added that G20 should collectively oppose terrorism financing, franchises, safe havens, support and sponsors.

Modi meets Xi in Hamburg amid escalating border tensions

July 7, 2017July 7, 2017 - by Manish Chand

Amid worsening relations between the two Asian giants triggered by a protracted border standoff, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping discussed “a range of issues” to defuse tensions that could spin out of control, if not managed with tact.
The leaders of the two countries shook hands warmly and smiled on the sidelines of the meeting of BRICS countries in Hamburg, which belied an increasingly hostile atmosphere that has enveloped bilateral ties.
Reliable sources said the conversation lasted for nearly four minutes.

India at G20: Modi to focus on terrorism, free trade & climate change

July 7, 2017July 7, 2017 - by Manish Chand

HAMBURG: Amid India’s aggravating relations with China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched down in the northern German port city of Hamburg for the G20 summit of the world’s major and emerging economies which. The summit will focus on forging a unified global response to a host of global crises, including the proliferation of trans-national terror networks, climate change and sustainable development.
At the G20 summit, Mr Modi is expected to highlight India’s concerns about trans-national terrorism and diminishing commitment to the Paris Accord, which suffered a major blow after the abrupt withdrawal of the US from the pact. On the issue of climate change, Mr Modi, who had a successful meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington House only a couple of weeks ago, is expected to fully support the G2 agenda, under the German presidency, focus on climate change and sustainable development.
India sees a convergence with major focus areas of the agenda of the 12th G20 summit, being held in Hamburg on July7-8, which include, besides terrorism and climate change, issues relating to free and open trade amid the rising wall of protectionism, migration, black money and global stability.